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The Luckiest Man
The Luckiest Man is the seventh episode of Three Rivers of Season One. Summary Victor, a car crash victim insists he wants to be taken off the life support machine so that he can help others with his organs. A young man, Micheal needs a lung transplant but his responsibilities prevent him from being admitted. Barbara is visiting Three Rivers to attend their annual Donor/Recipient Celebration and collapses. Synopsis Micheal is playing in the yard with his little brothers and sisters, when after jumping into a pile of leaves he trouble breathing. Andy runs into Kuol in the hallway as he is racing around with his new VAD. Andy tells him he needs to slow down, but Kuol states that he feels better than he has in a long time. Ryan is getting ready for the hospital's annual donor/recipient celebration. Victor Stone is driving home, talking on a hand free phone, when he swerves to miss something and crashes into a large metal bin. Micheal is brought into the ER and David examines him. He is concerned that Micheal keeps leaving the hospital without treatment. Micheal explains that there is no else to care for his siblings, he is all they have. His sister states that one time when Micheal was in the hospital, they were put into separate foster homes. Michael tells David that he will not be admitted. David works on treating him in the ER, while running further tests. Dr. Jordan responds to the ER to care for Victor and calls Andy in to consult as he has ALS. They determine that he has torn the sac around his heart and needs surgery. Victor's daughter Laura, who he refers to as "Cookie" arrives at the hospital. They transport Victor upstairs. Miranda is helping set up for the party and she and Ryan met Barbara Harris, a former transplant patient who is looking forward to meeting the donor's family. During the set up, Barbara collapses and is rushed to the ER. Kuol stops by Victor's room and they talk about many things, including Kuol's condition, Kuol's love of the Yankees and Victor's love of the Phillies. Kuol asks Victor about his condition and Victor explains that ALS is sometimes referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease". Kuol does an impression of Mr. Gehrig's goodbye speech, including the echo. David tells Michael that is condition has gotten worse and he needs to have surgery. Michael refuses and tells him he will sign out AMA. David gives him some medications to take home and he card, with his cell phone on back. Victor consents to having Andy operate on him. Only to discover that there was a complication, they discovered that his diaphragm was injured as well. Andy explains that he needs to be on a respiratory and this may last for the duration of his life. Barbara is admitted to the hospital and is being treated for possible rejection. Miranda is confused by her case. Ryan mentions that she sat on the tarmac for over six hours just to get here. Miranda asks Ryan to check into the passengers, crewmembers to find out if there is anything else going on here. Victor has decided that he wants to refuse medical treatment and wants to donate his heart to Kuol. Andy is stunned by the revelation, as is the entire hospital staff. Kuol is genuinely surprised and saddened that anyone would do this on his behalf. Micheal is brought by ambulance back into the ER and David is called. Michael has gotten worse and he tells David that his siblings are safe. David admits Micheal telling him he now needs a lung transplant. David also tracks down the hospital social worker and asks for help. She authorizes the kids to stay in the adjacent hotel for two weeks. A staff meeting is held and many of the doctors believe that this is a form of assisted suicide. It is also noted that Victor is a universal donor. Surprisingly the ethics committee does not oppose the decision and the staff votes (except Andy and Miranda) Three Rivers will allow the direct donation. Victor shares his wishes with his daughter who is very upset with her father. Victor tries to explain to her that he is taking back control of his life. As word travels, a mother brings her daughter, Missy to Victor's room. She notes that her daughter needs a liver and asks him for a direct donation. Miranda finds the mother exiting the room and is appalled by this turn of events. David suggests that he may approach Victor on behalf of Micheal and Miranda shares her opinion, it would be unethical. David states that there has never been a situation like this before and his patient is a young boy who is caring for his younger siblings. He tells her that he does not believe there are any guidelines for this situation. Andy tells Dr. Jordan that he wants no part of this surgery and removes himself as Kuol's surgeon. Dr. Jordan is present as Victor is signing the donation papers, noting that this is the first time the donor has actually signed the papers themselves. Laura appears stating she has a power of attorney over her father and tears up the donation papers. Ryan fins Miranda in the hallway and tells her he has news. It turns out that Barbara Harris did sit on the runway for over six hours and the man next to her got food poisoning. Miranda notes that food poisoning in an adult is not a great concern, but in a transplant patient is can cause sepsis. She is very pleased with Ryan. Victor talks to Andy about changing his daughter's mind, but Andy states he shares his daughter position. Victor tells Andy that death will always win and that he is just trying to take control of his own life. Andy takes Laura downstairs to see the donor party, telling her that there would be many more people here next year due to her father. She tells him that he was not there when she was growing up and she just wants more time. Andy convinces that this decision is not about her, but about Victor. She agrees to him make his own decisions. Andy goes to Kuol and asks to be his surgeon again, which Kuol happily agrees to. Pam is working on the pre-op preparations when she notices that Kuol has a slight fever. She calls Andy over and Andy has to tell Kuol that he cannot have the surgery until they get the fever under control. As Victor is being wheeled into the OR, many of the families that are benefiting from his donation are lining the hallway, to thank him for his gift. His daughter is there to have a final goodbye. Category:Episodes